Big Agnes Air Core Pad Primaloft Review

Big Agnes Air Core Pad with Primaloft Review

Editor: Mike

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Overal Rating:

[rating: 4/5]

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Basic Description of item:

3 season inflatable sleeping pad

Just the Facts:

Light and compact three season pad, with 2.5″ of comfort
PrimaLoft™ eco: synthetic insulation made from 50% recycled materials used in all 20″ wide pads
20″ x 72″ x 2.5″

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Story:

I purchased this pad from Cabelas on a recommendation from a close hunting friend. I was looking for something that met some specific needs I had:

-Light Weight

-Small

-Comfortable, this is a very big deal for me.

-Usable in temperatures ranging from 90 degrees down to 20 degrees.

The Big Agnes Air Core pad seemed to meet all of those needs, so I pulled the trigger and bought this sleeping pad. I was immediately impressed with the compact size of the pad when deflated and put into it’s bag. So it passed that requirement with flying colors. It was easy to roll it up and get it put into the bag. NICE.

I used the pad the first time on a scouting trip in southern Utah. It was 90 degrees in the day, and 60 degrees at night. We pitched our tent on Sandstone. I was excited to have a 2.5 inch pad. I began to blow it up with my mouth, and after 2.5 minutes of puffing I was done, yes I timed it. This took a little longer to blow up than I thought it should, but after looking at my watch, I thought not bad. They could have a bigger valve. Not a huge deal though.

I threw the pad in the tent, placed my bag on it, and hoped on. Wow was it comfortable. I weighed 200 lbs when I went on this trip. It held up to that weight just fine. Even while laying on my side, my hip did not make it to the ground. I felt I had ample padding .

The next trip found me in temperatures of 50 degrees in the day at 25 degrees at night. Once again I was on pure sandstone. I again puffed for 2.5 minutes and again felt the great comfort of this pad.

On each trip my bag stayed right on top of the pad. I felt comfortable all night long. Most pads that are filled with air are also COLD…not this one. The Big Agnes Prima loft pad was WARM. The insulation really did it’s job, and I felt warm and toasty in the 25 degree night weather.

Deflation on each trip also took about 4 minutes…but I was happy that each time I could fit it right back in the bag provided. The bag is adequate nothing special, but it looks like it will hold up a long time.

You can see the actual measurements are even better than Big Agnes lists, that is cool I thought.

Nice job Big Agnes, this pad is a keeper.

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What they could do better:

Bigger valve for faster blow up.

Star Rating Per Category:

Functionality: [rating: 4/5]
Value: [rating: 5/5]
Ergonomics: [rating: 5/5]
Durability: [rating: 4/5]